Do Roses Grow in Clusters?

Rose Varieties

• Roses fall into a few categories. Hybrid teas are the classic roses that make the florists rich on Valentine's Day. The most popular roses, hybrid teas are easy to recognize by their long stems and classic spiral shape. Long-blooming plants that can grow 10 to 12 feet high and wide, climbing roses are excellent garden roses. Shrub roses make up a huge part of the rose family with varieties ranging from low ground cover to large hedge types. These profuse, dependable bloomers are generally winter-hardy perennials. Miniature roses are tiny versions of larger roses. Ideal for small gardens or containers, mini roses are low-maintenance plants that flourish in almost any garden. Floribunda roses are commonly called cluster-flowered roses. Larger varieties are called grandifloras.

Floribunda Roses

• Floribunda roses grows in clusters. Their fragrant blooms can be formal in shape, like the hybrid tea, or ruffled and informal in nature. Floribundas bloom early summer through fall frost, generally growing 2 to 4 feet tall. These profuse, repeat bloomers produce clusters of three to 15 blooms. They have been known to bloom 50 flowers at once -- taking only a short break between the next bloom cycle. Their non-stop blooming makes floribundas ideal specimens for mass plantings or mixed perennial beds. Floribundas make excellent cut flowers.

Grandiflora Roses

• Grandiflora roses are -- as the name suggests -- bigger version of the floribunda variety. A cross of hybrid tea and floribunda roses, these larger shrub roses produce hybrid-tea-like blooms in clusters on bushes that grow 6 to 8 feet tall. Their tall growing habit makes them ideal for the back of the garden. These fragrant roses come in many colors and will reward the gardener with baskets of cut flowers all season long.

Climbing and Shrub Roses

• Climbing and shrub roses are available in hundreds of varieties. Many of them produce clusters of blooms throughout the growing season. Climbing roses can be planted to grow over trellises, doorways, walls, statues -- or any garden feature. Shrub roses are profuse bloomers that generally require no more maintenance than an early spring pruning.